Steven Woolfe discharge from hospital after altercation with Ukip MEP

Steven Woolfe lies in a hospital bed with Thumbs-up (Ukip/PA)

Steven Woolfe has been discharged from hospital after an altercation with a fellow Ukip MEP.

The North West England representative has claimed his colleague Mike Hookem "came at him" in a scuffle outside a meeting in Strasbourg.

Mr Woolfe was taken to hospital with a suspected head injury after suffering from seizures and collapsing later that day.

A party spokesman said: "Steven Woolfe has today been discharged from hospital in Strasbourg. He is focused on continuing his recovery and will not be making any further statements today."

Mr Hookem has denied punching Mr Woolfe and posted a photograph of his hands on Twitter.

The move came after Mr Woolfe issued a statement saying medical examinations suggested the bruising on his face was caused by more than just a fall or seizure.

An internal Ukip probe is to investigate the incident, with some senior figures saying it should bar leadership front-runner Mr Woolfe from continuing in the race to head the party.

With question marks being raised over whether Mr Woolfe can continue to seek the party leadership, fellow MEP Bill Etheridge said he can "no longer" support his campaign, and will now run himself.

Mr Etheridge told BBC's Sunday Politics: "Up until this happened, I was seriously considering rolling in with a unity candidate to try and make sure that we didn't have people that had been negative towards the party and towards Nigel taking over.

"Now, I don't see that I can support Steven and yes, I will be standing."